Matin
by varietyofwords
Summary: Chuck and Blair. Oneshot. My response to the prompt for the second day of the third Chair Week, first wedding anniversary. "No Harry Winston. No love."


**Author's Note:** This story (belatedly) fulfills the second prompt from the third Chair Week – first wedding anniversary. While writing it, I imagined it as a follow-up to "Morning", which I wrote for the first Chair Week and set in the morning of the 6x10 flashforward.

* * *

He plucks a purple grape offer the platter in front of him, squeezes it in his little hand so tightly that he fears it might break open – slimy insides destined to stain his sharp, little blazer. But he's willing to take the risk twisting in his seat and leaning down towards the baby seat placed on the ground. The infant gurgles and smiles as the seat bounces with the rhythmic tapping of his mother's feet, as his brother offers out the grape.

"Freeze, Bass," Blair says sharply, and the little boy holds motionless for just a moment before he twists his head to look up at her with the same doe-eyed innocence he inherited from her. And Blair's hand moves to curl around his, to unfurl the fingers gripped tight, to remove the grape from Henry's palm. "I'm glad you want to share with your brother, Henry, but he's too young for grapes."

"He's too young for anything," Henry replies crossing his arms and throwing himself back against the couch. He scowls angrily as Blair places the squished grape on the side of her plate, as she turns in her seat and wraps her arm around her eldest child.

"He'll get bigger," Blair promises placing a kiss on the top of Henry's head. Going from a family of three to a family of four has been a hard adjustment for them all, especially the little boy who used to occupy the center of their world. "Nathan already laughs at your funny faces. Do remember when he couldn't even do that?"

Henry twists his head and looks up at her, pauses for a moment as he contemplates her words, and then he slides his fingers into his mouth pulling aside his cheeks and sticking out his tongue. Blair's reaction isn't nearly as rewarding as that of Nathan, whose smile widens and belly jiggles as he laughs. Tiny fists wave like pompoms in the air; tiny fingers curl around Henry's index finger when the older brother offers out his hand.

The sound of heavy footfalls on the stairs, of toy cars being pushed aside so they skitter across the hardwood floor into the dining room attracts the attention of all those assembled in the room – the baby who squirms in his bouncy seat in search of the noisemaker, the little boy who beams at the sight of his daddy, and the wife who pops another grape in her mouth and smiles with false innocence.

"Look, Daddy," Henry exclaims excitedly as his father saunters over towards him, "Nathan and I are holding hands."

"I see," Chuck replies with a smile bending at the waist to place a kiss against Henry's temple, bending at the knees to run a finger against Nathan's chubby cheeks. And then he moves to publicly greet his wife the same way he does every morning: a tender kiss against her lips and words meant just for her spoken in the softest tone. "Good morning, beautiful."

The greeting causes Blair to smile against his lips; a happy glow spreading across her face as he takes a seat in the gray, wingback chair next her. She passes over a section of _The New York Times_, and Chuck cross his legs – ankle at the knee – draping the paper over his leg for the moment as he takes a sip of his coffee and asks Henry about what he'll be doing at school today.

"Hello," a sunshine-filled voice interrupts distracting the little boy from the question at hand.

Henry rushes to his feet, runs towards his aunt – open blazer flapping in the wind – and wraps his arms around Serena's legs. He tips his head backwards to stare up at the statuesque blonde, and she reaches down to ruffle his hair, but Henry is quicker sidestepping her efforts and running back to the protective safety of his parents. After all, he spent most of this morning working to get his hair to fall just right against his forehead and he isn't about to let his aunt Serena mess it up no matter how much he loves her.

"S, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you still be at home? In bed," Blair questions with evident surprise as she wraps her arm around Henry's waist and pulls him close. Without missing a beat, though, her foot continues to tap in a steady rhythm keeping the infant at her feet occupied. "Don't tell me the compatibility isn't there and you're here to borrow a bottle of gin and the key to my mother's elevator?"

"Ugh, B," Serena replies wrinkling her nose in disgust as she takes a seat in the winged back chair opposite of Mister and Mrs. Bass.

The grape she has been about to reach for is left untouched on the platter in the middle of the coffee table because while they all may be able to laugh at Blair's temporary insanity six years after the fact, that doesn't mean Serena wants to hear any more details than the ones she already gleamed from scanning pages of Blair's diary.

Serena wipes her hands against the front of her jeans before stretching them out in a demand for Chuck or Blair to pass over her youngest nephew. Blair pops another grape in her mouth, bends down, and unbuckles Nathan from his bouncy seat while Chuck tosses the white, burp cloth placed on the table to his stepsister with the knowledge of a father who has picked up a well-bounced baby and been unprepared for the possible outcome before.

The youngest Bass kicks his legs as he curls his hand around Serena's long, blonde locks and smiles a gummy smile as he forcefully tugs. The pull jerks Serena's head down, and she winces as she works at untangling her hair from Nathan's grip.

"You'd think I'd be used to this by now," Serena mumbles.

"Why do you think I wore my hair up every minute for two years straight years?" Blair replies as she removes her hand from around Henry's waist and reaches to break off a piece of buttery croissant.

"Well, not every minute," Chuck chuckles as he unfolds the paper in his lap and begins scanning the headlines. His reading time is interrupted, however, as Henry steps over the now abandoned bouncy seat and proceeds to climb into his father's lap with eyes tinged green with envy.

Blair opens her mouth and begins to tell Henry to ask nicely, but her husband is a softy and immediately makes room for the five-year-old as he flips over the paper and scans the headlines of the business section. With a roll of her eyes, Blair pops the piece of croissant into her mouth and turns her attention to her best friend.

"I'll probably die of a heart attack if I ever witness breakfast at the Basses' where there aren't croissants served with a side of innuendo," Serena mutters as she reaches to untangle her hair from Nathan's fist once again.

"And I'd probably die of one if you ever called before coming over," Blair replies with a pointed look. "Now, spill, S."

The hesitation in Serena's answers, the anxiety on Serena's face causes Blair's eyes to narrow further and then widen as realization dawns. The question spills forth before Blair can stop it causing the paper in Chuck's hand to rustle as he drops it to his lap and stares at his stepsister in anticipation of her reply.

"No," Serena immediately replies. Her gaze darts from her best friend to her stepbrother and back again, and a sigh of annoyance rolls off her lips as she clarifies her denial. "I'm not pregnant, Blair."

"Okay," her best friend states defensively. "Forgive me if I assumed the worst as to why my best friend is here rather than at home with her husband celebrating their first wedding anniversary."

"Would Dan and I having a baby really be the worst thing you can think of?" Serena questions as she begins bouncing Nathan on her knee. Chuck and Blair shrug their shoulders in tandem not because they think Serena would make an awful mother, but because reactions to unexpected pregnancies are unique to the prospective parents' situation and what they might assume to be the best thing could be Serena and Dan's nightmare.

"I came over because I need ideas for what to get Dan for our anniversary."

"You do realize your anniversary is today?" Blair questions in a mocking tone with a gesture of her hand. Serena sighs, explains that she is well aware of the date and has been wracking her brain for weeks as to what to buy her husband. "Well, do you know what Dan's getting you?"

"No," Serena replies trailing off and dropping her voice low before continuing, "I do know it's going to be under a hundred dollars."

"A hundred dollars?" Blair spits out. Her surprise is immediately contained behind a pitying look. "He does realize you two live on the Upper East Side and he once had a book on the _New York Times_ bestsellers list, right?"

"We wanted our gifts to be special," Serena protests coming to Dan's defense. "Something from the heart rather than from deep pockets."

"So I guess we can assume you're getting another public love letter," Blair teases before sighing wistfully, "and rule out anything shiny from Bendel's or Harry Winston."

"No Harry Winston," Henry chimes from his perch on his father's knee, "no love."

His parents laugh, share a smile over Henry's head, and, while the comment is unsurprising coming from a Bass, Serena still shakes her head side to side and fights the way the corner of her lips pull into a smile. Chuck adds his approval to Henry's statement acknowledging that the little boy has a good point before adding that Aunt Serena isn't like Mommy.

"Thank God," Blair announces with a smile. "There's only room on this island for one Blair Waldorf."

"Or in this world," Serena and Chuck add in sync. Blair preens sitting up a little straighter because she takes their comments as a compliment rather than an insult. After all, not everyone can be like her.

"Don't you have a sister-in-law who would be better suited to this?" Blair questions. "Jenny knows more about Brooklyn tastes than I ever will or care to know."

"I do, but someone agreed to finally give her some vacation time after last month's Fashion Week," Serena states pointedly. "Jenny left her cell phone and laptop at our apartment in order to avoid getting sucked back into drama at the atelier while on her vacation."

"Is that why she's not responding to any of my calls or emails?" Blair asks, and Serena leans back a little in her seat because if looks could kill, Jenny Humphrey would be dead right now. "I told her she could take a few days off not disconnect entirely. If Little J thinks she can just ignore—"

"Mister Chuck," Dorota interrupts from the doorway to the dining room, "Arthur here to take you to Bass Industries and Mister Henry to school."

Chuck offers his thanks to the maid as he nudges Henry off his lap, and the little boy hurries into his mother's arms to give her a kiss and a hug goodbye while Chuck moves to kiss the baby in Serena's arms goodbye and offer his condolences to his stepsister on her unfortunate predicament as the friend who needs help and as the messenger who is about to be lined up and shot.

Blair moves to her feet, offers her husband a quick kiss goodbye, and watches Chuck and Henry walk hand in hand down the stairs towards the limo waiting out front before turning on her heels and turning her attention to her best friend. Her fingers fly to play with the bow holding her purple robe closed; a silent reminder that she stills needs to change. She scoops the baby out of Serena's hand gesturing towards the bouncy seat placed by the unoccupied couch before heading towards the stairs.

"Bring the baby seat, S. You can bounce Nathan and brainstorm more low-budget anniversary gifts while I get dressed and brainstorm what to do about my wayward fashion designer."

"B, this time last year you told me that you had reached a turning point," Serena reminds her best friend as she stands. "Love, acceptance, letting people do what they want."

"I did. Your wedding to Dan occurred in my home, and I'm very happy for you, S," Blair protests moving up the stairs. "But I can't allow my employees to think Jenny can ignore me and do whatever she wants no matter how talented Gothic Barbie is. And, once I get a hold of her, you can ask about present ideas. Two birds, one stone."

Serena picks the bouncy seat up off the floor and follows behind Blair darting her gaze to Dorota standing to the side and rolling her eyes because some things like Blair Waldorf's management skills haven't changed in over time. And Dorota just smiles, offers her congratulations on Miss Serena's first wedding anniversary as she moves to clear the breakfast tray because it wouldn't be breakfast at the Basses without grapes and a side of scheming.


End file.
